The invention is directed to a method for the operation of an x-ray installation having an x-ray radiator, which comprises an x-ray tube within a liquid-filled housing.
The problem arises in such x-ray installations, whose x-ray radiators usually contain an electrically insulating liquid, namely an insulating oil, that the oil decomposes under the influence of the x-radiation. As a result thereof, gases, including hydrogen, are released, these first entering into solution in the oil and appearing in the form of gas bubbles after saturation has been reached. The occurrence of gas bubbles is disadvantageous, first, because the obtainable image quality suffers when employing the x-ray installation for imaging purposes when gas bubbles are located in the region of the useful x-ray beam. Second, the insulating effect is reduced due to the presence of gas bubbles in the insulating oil, so that the risk of voltage arc-overs and, thus, of the outage of the x-ray radiator is present.
German Patent 892 032 and DE-UM 17 11 479 disclose x-ray radiators with an x-ray tube located in a liquid-filled housing wherein measures are undertaken with which gas bubbles present in the liquid in the region of the x-ray tube are to be eliminated. These measures, however, can only be undertaken when larger gas bubbles have already formed. They are ultimately ineffective in view of the afore-mentioned disadvantages.